Date: Mon, 16 May 1994 15:01:20 -0400
From: "Bethany Dumas, UTK"
Subject: pop -- aka "dope" in these parts
I just read the last few days ADS communications. To my surprise, there
was no mention of "dope," the area generic term for "canned or bottled,
usu. carbonated, non-alcoholic beverage." I am not certain I had ever
heard the term before I moved to Knoxville in 1974. The term is not
as widely used as "ink-pen"--certainly, younger urban speakers do not use
it--but the term is widely used by older and rural speakers. One day a
few years ago I was looking for a checkout lane at a local Krogers
(Kroger's, if you prefer). There were some groceries sitting alone.
In a moment a woman came up clutching several 2-liter "Coca-Colas" in her
arms. SHe said, apparently apologetically, "I wanted to get me some
more dopers." It's usually just "dope," though I also occasionally
hear "brown doper" or "orange doper" (for cola drinks or what some
people still call "big oranges"). It seems that Coca-Cola originally
either did ordid not contain codeine (I've read a lot about it, but
nothing seems dispositive), and that's whre the term originated. One
explanation is that the local moonshiners were afraid the popularity of
Coca-Cola would interfere with profits, so they started the rumor. Another
explanation is that the original formula DID contain "dope." Anyway, I
wanted you to know that the term is alive and well, though probably shrinking
in distribution and frequency. When I mention the term in undergraduate
classes, most of my students are familiar with it.
Bethany Dumas (in%"dumasb[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]utkvx.utk.edu")